Bad breath could be a sign of diseaseFebruary 7, 2019As part of Pet Dental Health Month, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is advising veterinarians to encourage pet owners to make their pet's oral health care a top priority and to schedule professional exams. According to AVMA president John de Jong, DVM, pet owners should be made aware that poor oral health could lead to potentially life-threatening damage to their pet's internal organs as a result of periodontal disease. "Oral disease is the most frequently diagnosed health problem for our pets," says Dr. de Jong. "In addition to causing receding gums, tooth loss, and significant pain, bacteria in the mouth enters the bloodstream potentially affecting the heart, liver, and kidneys, which can be life-threatening." AVMA reports most dogs and cats have some evidence of periodontal disease by the age of three, indicated by bad breath, a change in eating or chewing habits, pawing at the face and mouth, and depression. A study published in the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry (JOVD) showed that only two percent of dog owners follow through on brushing their pets' teeth. In addition, a survey of pet owners showed that only 14 percent of dogs and nine percent of cats receive dental care at the …
SPONSORED CONTENTThis new food helps kittens with digestive issuesHill's Prescription Diet i/d Kitten helps ease digestive upsets with food specialized for kittens, including our ActivBiome+ Digestion formula. + Learn More
How endodontic and restorative crown therapy can help grow your practiceFebruary 6, 2019With today's specializations, the general practitioner can find it a challenge to treat all aspects of a pet's health. Areas like dermatology, behavior, and especially dentistry have seen a dramatic reduction in the general veterinary practice. Referral to specialists is becoming more and more the option and for good reason. By the very nature of their work, specialists have an increased knowledge in their particular field, making referral to them a wise choice, particularly when the referring veterinarian has little to no experience with a specific discipline. That being said, there is room for these specialized disciplines in a general practice. This is especially true when a practice has a veterinary technician specialist (VTS) credentialed in that specialty, and when appropriate time and effort is given to learning it, performing its procedures correctly, and most importantly, relaying that expertise to the client. Endodontic therapy (i.e. root canal therapy) and crown restorations are two disciplines that can be incorporated into the general practice, if only in a limited way and usually at a much lower cost than a referral practice. Single-rooted teeth, such as canine teeth and incisors, can be good candidates for root canal therapy. When adequately learned, endodontic …
GI issues tricky to diagnose, treatFebruary 6, 2019From intestinal parasites to irritable bowel disease (IBD), dietary indiscretion to food allergies, gastrointestinal issues are among the most common problems veterinarians see. While they might seem straightforward, they can be difficult to diagnose and treat for a number of reasons. Chronic diarrhea and vomiting may not be brought to your attention until it has been going on for a while without improving or begins to worsen in severity. And, of course, diarrhea and vomiting can be seen with diseases unrelated to the GI tract. Once the GI tract is pinpointed as the source of the problem, the signs can still have many potential causes. Radiographs show only faint shadows of the intestines, making interpretation difficult. Gastrointestinal problems can resolve on their own in three to five days, but when they don't, additional diagnostics, therapeutic trials, and medication can be the next step. Fortunately for pets, owners, and veterinarians, more companies are beginning to develop drugs and run clinical trials specifically for cats and dogs with GI disease, says M. Katherine Tolbert, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, clinical associate professor of medicine at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. "There are a lot of new drugs that …
Walkin' Pets accepting veterinary scholarship applicationsFebruary 6, 2019Walkin' Pets' scholarship program is now open for submissions from students in veterinary programs. A $1,000 scholarship is being offered for doctoral veterinary students, and a $500 rehab/veterinary technician scholarship is being offered for canine rehabilitation and/or veterinary tech students. Students interested in applying must be full-time doctoral students entering, or enrolled in, the 2019 academic year at an accredited veterinary school. Those who are interested in the rehab/veterinary technician scholarship must be enrolled in a full-time canine rehabilitation or veterinary tech program for the 2019 academic year. The application period for both scholarships is open from now to July 31. Scholarship recipients will be notified by Sept. 1. Applicants are asked to respond to an essay topic and submit a short online application that can be found here: http://www.handicappedpets.com/vet-scholarships. Walkin' Pets by HandicappedPets.com is an online pet product company serving the needs of aging, disabled, and injured pets and their pet caretakers.
New federal animal cruelty law introducedFebruary 6, 2019Congressmen Vern Buchanan and Ted Deutch have introduced the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act to outlaw and prosecute those involved in the abuse and killing of animals. PACT builds on the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act passed in 2010 by closing loopholes and prohibiting cases of animal abuse. While the previous legislation made the creation, sale, and distribution of animal "crushing" videos illegal, these acts of cruelty against animals remain legal. "The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law," Buchanan said. "Protecting animals from cruelty is a top priority for me and I look forward to working with Congressman Deutch on this important issue." The new legislation will amend the federal criminal code to prohibit intentional acts of crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, or otherwise subjecting animals to serious bodily harm. If passed, those prosecuted and convicted will face federal felony charges, fines, and up to seven years in prison. Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF), said, "Decades ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recognized the seriousness of animal cruelty and its link to escalating violence toward humans. Representatives Deutch and Buchanan are tremendous …
Understanding congestive heart failureFebruary 5, 2019Congestive heart failure (CHF) is described by medical professionals as more of a syndrome than a disease. Yet, when pet owners are often attuned to "disease," how can veterinarians best convey what CHF really is to their clients? "Congestive heart failure can result from a variety of different types of underlying heart disease," says Emily Karlin, DVM, Dipl. (cardiology), clinical instructor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. "When we say CHF, we generally are referring to fluid buildup somewhere it should not be, as a result of heart dysfunction. We can see left-sided CHF (fluid buildup in the lungs—pulmonary edema), resulting in cough or trouble breathing, or right-sided CHF (fluid buildup in the abdomen or around the lungs—ascites or pleural effusion), resulting in abdominal distension or trouble breathing. Basically, CHF is a potential outcome of having heart disease." Recognizing signs and symptoms When it comes to differentiating CHF from heart disease, paying attention to clinical signs and symptoms is key. "Asymptomatic, or occult, heart disease is often detected based on physical exam abnormalities—such as a heart murmur, cardiac gallop, or arrhythmia—or sometimes by echocardiographic screening, but the animal is feeling well at home with no clinical …
What makes a good working dog?February 5, 2019The canine labor market is diverse and expansive. Assistance dogs may be trained to work with the visually or hearing impaired, or with people in wheelchairs. Detection dogs may be trained to sniff out explosives, narcotics, or bedbugs. Others even learn to jump out of helicopters on daring rescue missions. Despite the wide variety of working roles available for man's best friend, those jobs can be tough to fill, since not every dog will qualify. Even among those specifically bred to be assistance dogs, only about 50 percent starting a training program will successfully complete it, while the rest go on to be very well-trained family pets. As a result, the wait list for a trained assistance dog can be up to two years. Evan MacLean, PhD, director of the Arizona Canine Cognition Center at the University of Arizona (UA), is exploring ways to identify the best dogs for different jobs—before they start the long and expensive training process—by looking at their cognitive abilities. He is lead author of a study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science looking at whether canines' cognitive abilities can help predict their success as working dogs. While a dog's physical characteristics and temperament are often considered …
Building trust with pet parents through digital marketingFebruary 5, 2019Pet parents come in all shapes and sizes, ages and genders, backgrounds and income levels. Yet, they all share a few common concerns that guide them as they choose a veterinarian. In addition to a convenient location and budget considerations, such as pricing and the availability of financing, pet parents put a high premium on finding a veterinarian they can trust. Why is trust so important to today's pet parents? Today's pet owners live in a world that tells them they shouldn't trust anybody. The combination of claims of "fake news," well-loved celebrities and politicians acting badly, or major corporations indulging in unethical behavior results in a public wary to take anything on faith. The benefit of the doubt has evaporated, leaving veterinarians forced to market themselves in an environment where customers do research before committing to even the smallest purchase. (Think sports drinks and snack foods.) Choosing to get health care for a pet is a high-consequence decision. Seventy-eight percent of pet owners agree a pet is a member of the family.1 In July 2018, a survey conducted by Pew Internet and American Life found more than one in five people research specific physicians and hospitals before seeking …
Vitamin E: Necessary to horses, but there's a lot to learnFebruary 5, 2019Vitamin E seems to be at the forefront of many discussions about horse nutrition these days. Contrary to appearances, vitamin E is not a vitamin in and of itself. Rather, it's a group of eight compounds—four tocopherols and four tocotrienols—that are fat soluble. This vitamin is important for myriad functions in the horse's body, including but not limited to, and in no particular order, the eyes, the reproductive tract, and the neuromuscular system. The most important function of vitamin E seems to be as a biological antioxidant. In this way, and probably by other ways that haven't been determined yet, vitamin E serves to maintain many normal body functions of the horse. Vitamin E-related problems generally manifest in the horse's neuromuscular system. In young horses, these include nutritional myodegeneration, neuroaxonal dystrophy, and equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy; in older horses, a lack of vitamin E is associated with vitamin E-deficient muscle problems or equine motor neuron disease. The grass is greener and packed with vitamin E Happily, for most horses, there is ample vitamin E provided in the diet. Green grass is a great source of vitamin E—most things that are green have a good bit of it. Those horses lucky …
MightyVet to offer moral stress session at WVCFebruary 5, 2019MightyVet is offering a two-hour session at the Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) on how veterinarians can best deal with moral stress. Given the profession can be physically and emotionally demanding, the company is offering advice and tools to help alleviate stressful situations and their consequences, including burnout, compassion fatigue, ethics exhaustion, and suicide. "Moral stress is not an inevitability in veterinary medicine," says Barry Kipperman, DVM, DACVIM, MSc, one of the panelists. The discussion also will focus on how MightyVet is helping to bridge the gap in veterinary education by ensuring veterinarians are informed of, and prepared for, the challenges they will face in practice. The panelists will explore the following topics: Kipperman will focus on recent research on moral stress, including studies regarding the unique ethical dilemmas faced by veterinary professionals; Laura Strong, DVM, will look at moral stress from the perspective of a hospital owner, addressing the challenge of balancing the financial well-being of a practice with the well-being of the staff; and Carrie Jurney, DVM, DACVIM (neurology) will offer practical tips and tools to tackle the ever-present obstacles in veterinary medicine Click here to register.
